There I was, minding my own busy. I had been invited to sit in on a meeting of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Bus Association and I was waiting for the meeting to begin, musing about the blustery weather outside.
Next thing I know, the association president, Joe Wrabel of Capitol Trailways in Harrisburg, starts the meeting by lamenting about how low revenues have dropped in our industry.
He pointed out how our pricing structure keeps moving downward . . . despite the fact overall travel is moving upward.
Needless to say, I snapped to attention.
A little flame deep inside began to burn hot -- again. I started rubbing my palms and shifting in my seat. I was ready to go. Thankfully, right after Joe finished his remarks, he turned to me and asked if I had any comments for the board.
Wow! It was like asking Barry Bonds if he prefers to take a pitch and walk, or swing for the fences.
I think everyone in the room expected me to launch into an update on legislative matters. But I couldn't let Joe's comments slide by. Instead, I immediately jumped all over them. To quote that noted baseball philosopher: it was déjà vu all over again.
I thanked Joe for raising the issue, even before dealing with any association business. Because, no matter what legislative battles we're engaged in (and we do have some very serious state and national issues we're fighting), we can't loose sight of the fact that our businesses must be profitable. And you can't turn a profit if you're giving away your service, in effect, because you don't know your cost structure.
Or, you can't survive if your price is being driven by the lowballer down the street, and not by sound business thinking.
It's springtime. The weather is getting better.
From my vantage point, I can tell just by the number of coaches winding their way around the streets of Washington that business is looking up.
It's clear that people are starting to travel again, whether it's to root for the home team at the nearest ballpark, or to take an overnight trip to one of our wonderful national parks.
Now's the time to establish a profitable pricing structure . . . and to stick with it. It's your opportunity to start the season with a home run!
So, don't strikeout on the chance to improve your financial position. With travel picking up, this is a bases-loaded opportunity you'd be crazy to pass up.